here are many types of electrical generators, most of which convert thermal energy to fluid energy to mechanical energy to electrical energy. The principal sources of electrical power convert thermal energy generated by burning coal or gas or by atomic fission to superheated steam which is then converted to rotary mechanical power through a turbine which, in turn, drives an electro-mechanical generator.
It has also been proposed to use a closed loop ferrofluid system to drive a turbine for generation of power. In such a system, ferrofluids that undergo large changes in their magnetic properties with temperature are subjected to heating and cooling at separate points of the closed loop so that, by use of an electromagnet, a self-pumping action can be created which may be used to drive the turbine. Nevertheless, these prior art electrical generators employ a plurality of large-sized mechanically moving elements for generating electricity, that are difficult to maintain, repair, and operate quiet with little vibration. In this regard, these prior art electrical generators have limited usages especially in the apparatuses requiring high precision, which are mostly powered by battery.
In view of the above description, there are several prior-art devices dealing with the matter. Namely, a ferrofluidic electrical generator is disclosed at U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,409, entitled “FERROFLUIDIC ELECTRICAL GENERATOR” by Charles M Redman, which is an electrical generator utilizing heating and cooling of separate points in a closed circuit ferrofluid system for enabling the ferrofluid circulating in the circuit by self-pumping to experience rapid change in their magnetic properties with temperature and thus generate an induced current by virtue of the change of rate of magnetic flux, so as to achieve the object of simplifying the generation of electrical power by eliminating the mechanical stages and directly from heat energy. Nevertheless, the medium used in the referring ferrofluid generator is a ferrofluid comprising magnetite of less than 100 angstroms in diameter, whose Curie Temperature is above 550 C., such that the referring ferrofluid generator requires a very high working temperature for enabling the magnetic flux to change significantly and thus consumes a comparatively large amount of energy.
On the other hand, it is preferred to have a device capable of effectively utilizing the thermal energy, i.e. heat, dissipating therefrom for achieving objects of energy conservation, environmental protection and resource recycling.
Moreover, as the increasing of computing performance, the temperature of the microprocessor embedded inside either a desktop PC or notebook PC increases as well, where the high temperature is going to cause the reduction of efficiency of the microprocessor in consequence. In this regard, certain prior art techniques have been disclosed for cooling down the temperature of the microprocessor while keeping the same in a specific working temperature. For instance, the U.S. Pat. No. 6,704,200, entitled “LOOP THERMOSYPHON USING MICROCHANNEL ETCHED SEMICONDUCTOR DIE AS EVAPORATOR”, discloses a loop thermosyphon system, comprising: a semiconductor die having a plurality of microchannels; and a condenser in fluid communication with the microchannels; and wicking structure to wick a fluid between the condenser to the semiconductor die; wherein the fluid can be selected from the group consisting of water, alcohol and Fluorienert. Nevertheless, although the referring loop thermosyphon system is capable of cooling down the temperature of a microprocessor, it did not further put the thermal energy absorbed by the loop thermosyphon system into some sort of usage, which is wasteful and can be improved.
In view of the above description, the present invention contemplates the abovementioned shortcomings and desires to come up with a device of micro loop thermosyphon for ferrofluid power generator capable overcoming those shortcomings while generating electric power.